


Longing For My Future Self

by CoolestVaporeon



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fanart, Reunited and It Feels So Good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 19:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18581194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoolestVaporeon/pseuds/CoolestVaporeon
Summary: Despite all the good times in the present, you can't get past this feeling about your past that plagues you. On top of that, why does the criminal Grovyle make you feel so confused?





	Longing For My Future Self

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so, I really love PMD and I really love the characters. I have a strange soft spot for Grovyle and I want him and the protagonist to rekindle the relationship they had before the protagonist lost their memory. So I tried to follow along the plot of the game at some key moments in the story, but from inside the mind of the protag, imagining what they could have been thinking or feeling. (the protag in this story is an Eevee, in case it isn't clear or anything) Enjoy!!

Lying in bed at the guild later that night, many thoughts rattled through your brain. You tossed and turned, wishing your head would be quiet so you could get to sleep. A lot had happened that day. From discovering the cave beneath the quicksand, to the fight with Mesprit, then watching the Time Gear being stolen by Grovyle…well, it was a lot, to say the least.

But there was something else that was bothering you more than anything. It was Grovyle. There was something about him that you couldn’t figure out. Seeing him gave you that same distinct feeling you got when you were looking at the quicksand pits, and at Fogbound Lake, like deep inside you, you had seen him before.

You rolled over a few more times, then decided to get out of bed. You weren’t going to sleep much like this. You sat beneath the window and took a look outside. Since the guild was on the side of a cliff, this window provided an amazing view of the sky and the ocean. The waves were gentle tonight, slowly breaking against the cliff face. The moon glowed dimly in the sky. As you looked at it, you thought of what would have happened if you and Shinx hadn’t escaped before time was frozen in Quicksand Desert. What is it like to be trapped in time? Would you die eventually, or would you be forever trapped in stasis? These were not pleasant thoughts, and they did not help to quell your other worries.

You shook your head. Thinking of what-ifs wasn’t productive. You decided to try to focus on Grovyle. Your memory of your life as a human was foggy at best and you couldn’t recall much more than your name and the fact that you WERE a human. Because of this, you didn’t think trying to remember your past would help the present moment. Instead, you closed your eyes and focused on the things you knew about Grovyle. Hopefully something would stick out as familiar.

What did you know about him anyway? Well, you knew what he looked like, how powerful he was, that he is stealing the Time Gears, what his voice sounds like…

As you thought that, something dawned on you. His voice…why was that so familiar? You knew for certain you had only met him today during your time as a Pokemon and yet, it stuck out. It felt like you had heard his voice, not out loud, but in a memory or a dream.

Suddenly it all came together. His voice, you had heard it before in a Dimensional Scream. It was hard to comprehend, but you couldn’t deny the feeling inside you that it was true. But, why? Why would you have heard his voice during a Dimensional Scream? You couldn’t imagine that it was something from the past, you weren’t a criminal and even as a human, you didn’t think you would hang around an evil Pokemon like Grovyle. That only really left the possibility that it was from the future, but that also seemed farfetched. You had no reason to be talking with Grovyle in any capacity.

All of this made your brain hurt. So many conflicting emotions were bouncing around your head. _None of this makes sense_ , you thought, _but maybe I am just tired and confused. Yeah, I just need to rest, then tomorrow I will realize that this was all just silly_. With that, you went back to bed, hoping tomorrow would bring more answers.

It didn’t. You woke up to that distant feeling nagging at you, telling you what you were trying to deny. You decided to keep it to yourself, thinking it best not to complicate an already sticky situation.

* * *

Dusknoir stood before the town, Grovyle captured and tied up by his side. They were headed back to the future where they came from. The Time Gears were all safe and thanks to the Great Dusknoir and the guild, the planet was safe from paralysis.

Yet, despite Dusknoir celebrating the victory, there was still that nagging feeling. You had ignored it while you worked to recover the Time Gears. Now though, looking at Grovyle and listening to Dusknoir, something didn’t feel right. You wanted to trust him because everyone else did. You wanted to believe that whatever Grovyle was trying to say through his muzzled mouth were just the crazy words of a captured criminal. Most of all you wanted to believe that when you happened to meet his eyes, that you didn’t see a hint of something else, some kind of pleading desperation that struck you to the core.

Before you could even begin to comprehend what you were experiencing, you were dragged into the future by a Pokemon you thought you could trust. You just hoped that all your hard work wasn’t for naught.

* * *

Travelling through time had taken a toll on both you and Shinx. Fighting your way through the mystery dungeons and running from the Sableye, it was almost too much to handle. On top of that, you were still reeling over the whole Grovyle situation. Dusknoir told you that you used to be Grovyle’s partner when you were a human. You weren’t ready to accept it. After all the work to stop him from stealing the Time Gears, how could you just turn around and now accept him as an ally? Shinx clearly felt the same way, and Grovyle went on his own before you reunited to find Celebi.

It hurt a lot though. Now back in the present, in the safety of Sharpedo Bluff, everything was coming to a head. Both you and Shinx accepted what Grovyle was doing and agreed to help. That didn’t mean you weren’t still skeptical, it just meant you were more focused on saving the planet. However, you were now viewing Grovyle through a different lens. Knowing that he was connected to you in the past made your previous feelings make more sense.

You knew that what you were feeling was longing, but for what, you weren’t entirely sure. Perhaps you longed to know more about yourself. You wanted to know if you had changed at all, how you started your mission with Grovyle to save the planet, maybe even where you had come from. These weren’t questions you were ready to ask, though. Your relationship with Grovyle was rocky and you weren’t even sure if he wanted to accept that you were his partner.

Still, when you looked at him now and listened to his voice, you were overcome with emotion. Even without any solid memories, the feelings were there. Longing washed over you and you couldn’t do anything about it. You decided to work harder every day, hoping that your focus would shift away from your emotions and towards the task at hand.

One night, though, a few days after recruiting the guild for help, you had a nightmare. It took place in the desolate future you had seen. All your friends were there, frozen in time, terror on their faces. You wanted to scream and cry, you tried to free them, but soon you also fell victim to the time paralysis. With your final breath, you cried out for help. Your last vision was of Grovyle in the distance, calling to you.

You awoke with a sharp gasp. Your body trembled for a moment as you calmed your breathing. Looking over, you could see where Shinx was still peacefully asleep, snoring up a storm. On the opposite side of the cave, Grovyle was still and quiet. He had returned after another successful mission to regroup before heading back out.

You stretched out your legs a bit. You continued to look over at Grovyle for a moment. Your legs moved without thinking and soon you were sitting in front of him. While he slept, Grovyle seemed to be peaceful. When you looked at him like this, you didn’t see the accused criminal or the future-hardened warrior. You wondered much about him.

As your thoughts wandered, Grovyle’s eyes suddenly opened. You jolted slightly, but relaxed when he didn’t make a move toward you. You held his gaze for a moment before softly speaking.

“I’m sorry I woke you up. I, uh, just needed to stretch my legs for a minute.”, you said hesitantly.

Grovyle stared for a moment more before speaking in an equally soft voice, “It’s alright. I woke up when I heard you gasp. You were having a nightmare.”

His statement surprised you. You hadn’t told him you were having a nightmare; how would he have known?

Your confusion was clear to Grovyle and a hint of a smile came over him. “You frequently would have nightmares in the future. They left you shaking and crying many nights. Soon, I began to wake up when I heard you rouse, and we would talk before drifting off to sleep together.”, he said.

You weren’t sure what to say. Even with Shinx’s snoring, he still woke up when he heard you? It made you think of how strong your bond must have been. You frowned a little. You were slightly embarrassed to have woken him up, and now you were talking about such personal things.

Grovyle spoke again, “Would you like to talk about the nightmare?”

There was no malice or judgement in his voice. Perhaps it was because of the late hour, but you felt like you could share anything with him in this moment. You tilted your head down, hoping he wouldn’t see your expression.

“We were in the future… the bad future. Everyone I cared about was paralyzed. I couldn’t help them. And then, then I was becoming paralyzed. When I cried for help, I saw you, but it was too late…”, saying the words out loud was surprisingly difficult. Tears began to well in your eyes.

Grovyle nodded. “Your nightmares always were like that. They always had you feeling hopeless and helpless. It didn’t help that our situation was already rather hopeless to begin with.”

“Then how did we used to cheer up? When things were so hard, how did we keep moving?” you said in a wobbly voice.

Grovyle shifted slightly towards you, folding his arms beneath him to prop himself up more. When he spoke, it was gentle and reassuring, “Times were always hard in the future. Some days, one of us would stop and decide it wasn’t worth it. But, in the end, we had each other. We were always there for each other. On the hard days, we would remind ourselves that not everything was lost, we still had friends to defend and to count on. It was enough. It got us to the past, after all, and it got us to where we are now, which is farther than we ever expected we would get. I was truly grateful to have you.”

When you looked into his eyes, a wave of nostalgia came over you. You could feel the happiness you felt during those times, the hardships, the struggles. It was intense. You scooted slightly closer to Grovyle now. You had a lot on your mind and didn’t know where to start.

“Even though I have lost my memory of our time together, are you still grateful for me? Or have I become a burden?”

“I am more grateful than I have ever been. When we were travelling through time and became separated, I almost gave up all hope. The only thing that kept me going was knowing you were out there somewhere. I knew I had to complete the mission we started so we could be reunited. And we were, even if it wasn’t under the best circumstances. Even without your memories, you are still the you that I know and love,” he smiled and placed his paw on your head, “even if you are smaller and fluffier now.”, he gave your fur a small ruffle before taking his paw back.

You felt your face flush slightly at his musings. The connection between you and Grovyle was strong, and you were starting to feel just how strong it once was. Even still, you were shaken up from your nightmare and needed something to help you sleep again.

Without giving it much thought, you got up and moved towards Grovyle. You ducked under his chin and snuggled into his chest under where he had himself propped up. He didn’t say anything as you did it, but you could feel him tense up a bit as you settled in close to him. You rested your head down on his front legs and let out a small sigh.

“I know I’m not exactly the same me as before, but…” you paused for a moment to relax, “but, I was thinking that talking ourselves to sleep is a good place to start again.”

Grovyle let out a deep exhale that rustled your fur slightly before he spoke, “I think you’re right; we have a lot to catch up on.”

He moved his face down towards yours and gave you a gentle nuzzle against your forehead. With that, he pulled you in closer and laid his head on top of yours. The two of you spoke for what felt like hours before drifting off again. You felt more relaxed than you had in many weeks, and that longing in your chest was finally fading. The future was still very uncertain, and the planet’s paralysis still loomed, but you had your other partner back, and the happiness you felt was enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely art at the end of this fic was a piece I commission from the wonderfully talented **digitalsnail** on tumblr. Go check out their work! And as always, if you liked the fic, leaving a comment always makes my day, even if its just a single nice word :) And let me know if you might like to see this continued, I am already brainstorming ways this could continue.


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